Sugar

ATHLETES. So Team Leslie attended a race this weekend and we were blown away by the athletes. Participating in an endurance affair, they consumed upwards of 26,000 calories over 24 hours (I hear that Tour de Francers max out at 10,000 per day...) and maintained a moving pace of 6 minute miles while pulling more than 80 pounds each. As you can imagine, that puts a lot of wear and tear on the body, and especially the feet! Indeed, these athletes go through about 3 sets of boots during a race. Despite the obvious challenges, these racers were so anxious to begin that they were literally jumping up and down at the starting line. When the signal finally came, they surged forward with an unmatched spirit and determination.

We were fortunate enough to get to meet some of these inspiring souls before the race. Sugar, one of the female leaders, was a particular favorite. Unlike her teammates who hung back by their trucks, taking last minute naps and scarfing down those much needed snacks, Sugar stood for more than an hour in ready position, her eye on the start, anxious to fly...

Scroll down a bit to see Sugar and the race.

"Sugar" - at the ready.

"Ugly"- who was definitely not ugly!

Packed for 200 miles on the trail.

Moments before take off.

Check out our boots!

And they're off! 14 dogs per team.

Indigo, aspiring musher.

A colorful (and loud) scene with hundreds of dogs and their humans getting ready to race...

35 teams from near and far competed in the Tustumena 200, many of them logging what was needed of the 500 total miles in order to compete in the famous Iditarod, happening in less than a month. Stay tuned!